Entertainment
Shaquille O’Neal buys stranger’s engagement ring after overhearing him struggling to pay for it
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Shaquille O’Neal made one man’s life that little bit easier after generously paying for the engagement ring he couldn’t afford.
The NBA legend was casually shopping at a Zales store in Atlanta where he has a jewellery collection and overheard a stranger discussing a payment plan to pay off the ring he planned on proposing with.
Shaq, 49, couldn’t help but be moved by the ‘young, hard-working’ man’s plight and so stepped in with his bulging wallet. Footage of the heartwarming moment shows Shaq handing over his credit card to the cashier before shaking the customer’s hand and patting his shoulder.
Discussing the viral clip, Shaq said on NBA on TNT yesterday: ‘I was in Zales looking for some loop earrings…
‘I seen a guy come in — he was just so shy and he was saying, “Hey, how much do I owe to pay off my ring?” I was like, “My man, how much is the ring?”
‘I’m not gonna say the amount but… this is just something I do everyday.’
When he heard that the man was willing to come back the following month to pay for the ring, Shaq told him: ‘Tell your girlfriend I got it.’
He then revealed: ‘At first he didn’t want to take it, he’s like “Nah, I can’t do that”. I said don’t worry about that I do it all the time. I’m just trying to make people smile, that’s all.’
The former Los Angeles Lakers player then explained that he recently went furniture shopping with his mum and came across a woman who had an autistic daughter. When he found she was trying to buy some items, Shaq generously took on the bill himself.
‘I’m into making people happy, so whenever I leave the house I try to do a good deed. I didn’t mean for that to get out because I don’t do it for that.’
Naturally, Shaq’s fans heaped praise on him for his generosity and hailed him as a ‘sweetheart’.
One Twitter user said: ‘Amazing guy god sees everything you will get double back god bless you more.’
Angling for a freebie themselves, another joked: ‘@SHAQ how many engagement rings are you trying to pay off? If you’re still looking, I can think of 100 things that would make this poor, debt riddled teacher smile!’
Recounting their own positive experience with the retired basketball star, one said: ‘My @SHAQ is a good guy moment: I stood behind him in line for a burrito sample at Costco once, and he only took one even though they probably would have let him take more. He didn’t even pull the “extra one for my kid/spouse/friend” stunt, which is generally accepted as a gimme.’
Another fan had a similar experience and said: ‘25 years ago while playing for the Magic he made time for a kid to get a photo with him during warmups at a Heat game (me). I was shunned by every Heat player, but not Shaq. He knew it meant a lot, even made staff move out of the way for a better photo. Shaq is a kind soul.’
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